Nobody forgets he wasnt a week in week starter in his first 2 seasons he was a kid and had a long way to go. He was absolutely not a punt. There are some players who appear once a generation who are always going to be special, Ronaldo was one of them. That was clear on his ability with the ball, his first touch, his ability with either foot etc, he was outstanding. What was missing was experience. He was no Punt, thats just silly. Anyone with a brain knew he wasnt a Punt.
I have a brain of sorts, and I think he was a long term investment that could pay or not pay. Don’t know if you’d call that a punt.
I remember well the stories that he impressed so much in a friendly that Giggsy told Ferguson on the plane home to buy him asap. I remember extremely well his debut, which was the most extravagant debut I’d ever seen and made people (me included) draw comparisons with Giggs and Best.
I also remember finding out we had tracked him for some time (along with others), and that he had stood out at the youth championship that summer where Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec were rated as the two best players. Us missing out on Ronaldinho last minute (after losing Becks) made us pay up more than most expected for Ronaldo late in the summer (this is the most obvious parallell with Diallo), whereas Liverpool got Pongolle and Tallec for far less. I think Ronaldo probably played two of his best games in a couple of years both before and after against United and against Bolton on his debut though. I do also remember very well all the people I discussed with who claimed Ronaldo at 19 and even 20 was an inefficient show pony, worse technique than the likes of Quaresma and less intelligence, not gonna work in a team etc and actually wanted rid or on loan. There were quite a few.
What we now know about Ronaldo is that he had a maniacal will to be the best at all costs, his greatest talent was an extreme dedication. None of us could ‘see’ that particular talent against Bolton, and Ferguson later said he was surprised by it, ie he bought Ronaldo without knowing that. So if it wasn’t a punt, it certainly was a gamble on a promising plot of land which luckily turned up with pay-dirt.
So as talents and punts are compared, I see the points of comparison with Diallo. For all our good scouting, we wouldn’t have had Ronaldo but for a bit of luck and a bit of desperation. Missing out on Dybala (last summer) and Sancho could be a blessimg in disguise as it has left space for players line Greenwood, Diallo and Pellistri.
The other side to the comparison though, tells us that even if Diallo is as valued a talent as Ronaldo was at 17/18, he is much more likely to become a Quaresma than a Ronaldo, and even at that, we’re can’t expect him to pull any proper weight the next two seasons. Replacing Beccks with Ron instead of Dinho, we went three barren years, our worst spell in a twenty year period.
So in any case, I expect a few here to be shocked if Diallo turns up an interesting little prospect and not a match-winner the next few years.
